President Trump slams LeBron

Saturday

“Lebron (sic) James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon,” Trump tweeted Friday night.

President Donald J. Trump never mentioned race when he dropped a late-night Twitter bomb Friday attacking the intelligence of both LeBron James and CNN anchor Don Lemon, .

But he didn’t have to, said a professor of political science at the University of Akron.

“I think there’s no question, it’s a racist tweet...and he did it on purpose...because he know it riles up a segment of his most rabid followers who are racist,” said David B. Cohen, who teaches at university’s Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics.

James and Lemon are both black. And Trump. Cohen said, “has clearly shown racist tendencies.”

Among other things, Trump has a history of questioning the intelligence of high-profile African Americans, particularly athletes — including James — and politicians, including former President Barack Obama and California Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

James — at least by for now — appears to be ignoring Trump’s latest insults, hurled at him as Akron celebrated the opening last week of the I Promise School, a partnership between the LeBron James Family Foundation and the city’s public schools.

The school initially aims to help third- and fourth-graders who have fallen behind their peers and provide support to the families. It ultimately has plans to expand to include more grades. Graduates move on to get a college degree at no cost at the University of Akron.

Just after noon Saturday — about 12 hours after Trump insinuated that he and Lemon were stupid — James retweeted pictures of smiling students from the I Promise School in Akron’s West Hill neighborhood.

“Let’s get it kids!!.” James tweeted. “Love you guys.”

No mention of Trump. No mention of race or politics. No hint of being outraged, frustrated, or even annoyed like thousands of his famous and non-so-famous fans who spent Saturday venting online.

All of it started Friday night when CNN re-broadcast Don Lemon’s wide-ranging interview with James last week at the I Promise School. During the sit-down, Lemon asked the basketball phenom about his political awakening.

James said it began when he thought of his own children in the wake of the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old African American shot and killed in Florida by a neighborhood watch volunteer.

“What I’ve noticed over the past few months (is Trump) using sports to kinda divide us, and that’s something that I can’t relate to. Sports has never been something that divides people. It’s always been something that brings someone together,” James said.

“Kind of?” Lemon asked with a laugh.

“He is,” James said. “He’s dividing us.”

Trump has repeatedly said he doesn’t watch CNN, but he apparently caught this interview. Just before midnight, the president tweeted: “Lebron (sic) James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron (sic) look smart, which isn’t easy to do. I like Mike!”

“Mike” is an apparent reference to basketball great Michael Jordan, who notoriously steered clear of politics and social issues

This was not the first time James has been critical of Trump. When Trump rescinded an invitation for the Golden State Warriors to visit the White House after they beat the Cleveland Cavaliers for the championship, James stood by his rivals and called the president a “bum.”

On Saturday, Golden State’s Steph Curry— also born in Akron, but a rival of James on the court — returned the favor, tweeting out his own support of James, saying “Keep doing you @KingJames!” with the emoji of a flexed bicep muscle.

Lemon chipped in with his own defense of James on Twitter: “Who’s the real dummy? A man who puts kids in classrooms or one who puts kids in cages? #BeBest.”

Ohio Gov. John Kasich — a Republican who hasn’t seen eye-to-eye with Trump — jumped into the battle, both on and off the court, tweeting: “Rather than criticizing @KingJames, we should be celebrating him for his charity work and efforts to help kids.”

Kasich also weighed in on who’s the greatest basketball player of all time: “By the way, all-around (James is)better than Michael Jordan. That’s a fact.”

The reactions are Twitter were mostly pro-James, but a few people defended Trump and questioned why his comments were considered racist when Jordan is also African-American.

One person expressed why he supports Trump over James, tweeting, “One lowered my taxes and the other plays a child’s game.”

The Bliss Institute’s Cohen said James has it right about Trump dividing the country.

“Every modern president (until Trump) has tried to unite the country. They have have different ideologies, but regardless of Democrat or Republican, they try to unite the country,” Cohen said. “This president is driving wedges into fissures that already exist.”

Domestically, Trump has zeroed in on things like race relations, immigration and police brutality, but he’s also created wedges beyond our borders with longtime alllies, Cohen said.

What Trump truly believes about any of these issues or policies is unclear, Cohen said, because it changes from minute to minute.

“I think he just believes in what plays well on television at that moment,” Cohen said.

Trump likely doesn’t like James and Lemon, but his tweet questioning their intelligence not only feeds some of his supporters what they want to hear — it’s a diversion, Cohen said.

Every moment spent talking about the tweet distracts Amercans from “talking about the Mueller investigation, his disastrous performance (with Putin) in Helsinki...North Korea...or the trade war.”

In Akron on Saturday, city and school leaders were focused on James.

Dru Joyce, James’ high school basketball coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary, told the president to “grow up.”

“This is supposed to be the leader of the free world?” Joyce asked rhetorically. “Where is the maturity? Where is the leadership? You want to get into back-and-forth with name calling?”

Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan called James “our hometown champion.”

“He is more than ‘just a kid from Akron,’ he is a role model and an inspiration for our young people looking for hope and a brighter future,” Horrigan said. “LeBron knows who he is and where he comes from. Respect is earned and LeBron has certainly earned it from me.”

And Mark Williamson, spokesman for Akron Public Schools, gave voice to the irony of the insult mentioned by many others: “I don’t know how anyone can look at what LeBron James has done to help us create this school — and prepare these children to flourish — and question his intelligence.”

Beacon Journal Reporter George Thomas contributed to this report.

Beacon Journal sports writer George Thomas contributed to this report. Amanda Garrett can be reached at 330-996-3725 or agarrett@thebeaconjournal.com.

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